Tomato … toe-mae-toe/I say to-mat-toe …

 

My mind came to this when I saw a quote, which seems quite appropriate today …

Heritage tomatoes from the
Isle of Wight - as supplied to M&S

"Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.

Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.”

The bench - now in situ

Attributed to Miles Kington (1941 - 2008), journalist, humorist, and musician, on a memorial bench near where he lived in Conkwell, overlooking the Kennet and Avon Canal … who hated the spot as there was nowhere to sit and enjoy the view – now there's a bench!

Conkwell hamlet

Conkwell – I had to find out about the name of this village … it was mentioned in an Anglo-Saxon charter in 957 as “Cunuca leage”.

"Leage” refers to a woodland clearing, while “Canuca” is a Celtic word denoting “hill” … suggesting a survival of pre-Saxon British people in the area – c/o the Bradford and Avon Museum.

The Canal

Another quote pertinent to today … at least I thought so … came via Sean (we're both 13^th day of the month babies … he October, me January – what that means I've no idea!) - this post I see is the 13th too - but in the month of June ... just enjoy his library - all 10% of it!! ...

Christoph Martin Wieland
(1733 - 1813)

He sent me off to Christoph Martin Wieland from the German Enlightenment era … his thought in English … 

“Only a true cosmopolitan can be a good citizen”.

I and my thoughts have been all over the place … I'm sort of gathering them all up – eclectic mix … from all parts of the awareness … it's quite tiring! … with lots to catch up on.

Eastbourne seafront and
promenade

So finally summer's here – little wind around, perhaps living on the south coast in times like this brings some relief … so glad the summer breeze flitters a bit.

Oh yes – and we have those yellow-green balls down here next week – so there's no parking – not to say I worry, but we could do with more rain – though this week … there was a water leak – and we had no water for 9 hours … I'd heard the tell-tale ping of a text … and seeing the mess – made plans. Before my bath – I'd run it, as I was going out early to History, I saved some 'fresh water' … and left the bath in for the dirty water.

Tennis in Eastbourne - 
ground preparations

After history I came back for some lunch, then realising that the leak wasn't fixed … I went off to town – coming back at teatime as I heard the chap say 'he's just turning the tap back on' … so all is now well again. 

Well not quite – there's still an 'ole in the road … but we have water: thank goodness … and I can't think of other places too much – I just remember how lucky I am.

Strawberry Moon - over Belle Tout
lighthouse and Beachy Head

Oh yes – there was a magnificent strawberry moon – that I didn't actually get to see … but so worthwhile via this pic …

Life toddles on … I'm pushing through … and I'll be around to see you all soon now, I hope …

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Savage Land update/extra for Jacqui …

 

When I spotted the Horned Melon … with names like African Horned Cucumber, Jelly Melon, or even Kiwano … so named by those down under in NZ – it looks to some extent like a kiwi … a prickly one, I'd guess …

African Horned Cucumber

... I thought of Jacqui and her prehistoric fiction … so here's another useful plant – should you ever find yourself stranded in the Kalahari or Namib deserts and need a drink …?!

Paleo Makgadikgadi Lake in
pre-historic times

However – the idea of the taste of these fruits really does tempt the palate to try … what's not to like about passionfruit, with the additional flavour of banana, or cucumber and lime?

It apparently has plenty of useful benefits … so I've included a link below to those suggestions – I do like the way they've summarised each one … but honestly do we need to be told to cut off the spikes before snacking on the peel?!

Illustration found inside the book - which
highlights where subjects may be found 

I've just had a look … and can get them via the dreaded A bookstore and all things beyond … as we can note here! I haven't ordered … they'd make me distinctly poorer … so for now they can rest on their laurels …

This is the book I refer to

One of my notes in last month's post for Jacqui inferred we could manage if we're left to our own devices – but honestly I've come across a youngster who obviously can't cook, orders a delivery-service breakfast at some ungodly hour in the middle of the morning – just about lunchtime! 

Female flower on the vine

I do wonder … she would never survive for very long … nor similar youngsters having not had to fend for themselves … sorry – I sound like a critical geriatric?!

Awaiting the sun to ripen the fruit

Anyway perhaps natural selection will take to weeding the human race?!

Namib - Sand and Sea

I do feel better – the brain murkiness has eased, which certainly helps – the actual clarification needs to be sorted out via the GP … but at least we know what's what … thanks for your thoughts one and all …

Healthline on the Kiwano melon - benefits

Savage Land - my post for Jacqui 

The presumed maximum extent of the Paleo Makgadikgadi Lake in early Pleistocene and the course of the rivers in the early to middle Cenozoic - website here ...

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Paradise and Beyond ...

 

Back to the coal face this past week … which has been somewhat torrid, but all is being sorted out with the NHS … life goes on – and it looks like at some stage an op … but for now back to some form of normal …

The Universe in Verse -
15 portals to wonder through
science and poetry

It was like Piccadilly Circus … people appeared, disappeared, reappeared, sat around, got called up, into one room and out again … then I got a hug from the nurse practitioner and sent on my way.

I took this little book with me for my appointment at the hospital 'The Universe in Verse' by Maria Popova, with illustrations by Ofra Amit … as you'll see from the descriptions I've attached ... pertinent to today for us to consider ... 

In here you'll find an article The Octopus and the Unknown, followed by a poem written by the author, 'Impossible Blues' …

Wislawa Szymborska
(1923 - 2012)

... Pi and the Seductions of Infinity with a poem by the Polish poet, essayist, translator, and the 1996 Nobel Prize Literature winner: Wislawa Szymborska (1923 - 2012) … I highly recommend you check her out …

An appropriate series of illustrated essays through the lenses of science and poetry. A celebration of beauty as we search (wherever we are in life) for the positive and reality.

Symmetry, and the Hidden
Order of Things

So these 15 portals are very appropriate for me at this time … the ups and downs … nothing serious, but something needs to be put into place – which is happening.

Flowers and the
Birth of Ecology

I hope you'll be able to check out this little book – lots of interesting notions and ideas in here … very thought provoking … and I leave you with a couple of notions to contemplate ... 

Without flowers, there would be no us.

No poetry.

No Science.

No Music.

I hope to be back to normal with my posting – which I know is 'never normal' – whatever that is … but I'll be around a bit more …

Thanks for being here …

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Savage Land ... Jacqui's latest book in her magnificent series ...

 

What's more important to life … water, shelter, or food … or …. looking after all of Nature …

Jacqui - very happy with life

The lands our early ancestors explored … needed to escape from … stretched far into the distance … further than their eyes could see … what lay ahead – and how could they take care of their wandering communities.

An area known as "Moonscape" in
the Namib Desert

I can see little reason to not believe that the indigenous peoples of Southern Africa live much as the ancestors Jacqui writes about would not have similarly existed ... so this post will be in this direction ... 

Swakop River - flooding through,
opening up into the Atlantic Ocean,
having been in ephemeral state

Depending on the season our ancestors would reach out across the physical features of earth … following ephemeral river systems … being there when the rains would let lose their life giving waters …

Female Welwitschia plant - showing the cones,
which are ripe and can be eaten raw or cooked

… they knew they had to be near a water source, while they could manage without food for one to two months at a time – the moon cycles – they'd know they needed to find some meat, fish, plants and fruits … and which suited the human system – to keep the clan alive ... 

Mopane Tree

Shelter was essential too – if the area was wind-driven, they'd need to hide away at times, keeping out of the sun … and making sure they were protected in winter …

Mopane Worm on a twig

Those early indigenous peoples would know which parts of plants were edible, where to find them, which season they would appear … and if there were insects living around the plant … they could possibly be harvested … as mopane worms are to this day.

Tamarix, Acacia, Camelthorn, Mopane trees … also provide shelter and firewood – once the indigenous peoples had learnt about fire – these particular trees are known for their hardwood.

Birds would snuggle into the 
lichen hiding their young and eggs

Over millennia our ancestors would have noticed nesting birds, which birds would nest in scrapes, and how useful finding and building shelters would be ... also to access these birds for extra food - eggs and meat ... 

A Welwitschia plant - which can live
over 1,000 years - fibrous trails

Papyrus sedge has been used for millennia, as fossil records have noted, for fastenings … many stringy or fibrous plants … Welwitschia, Papyrus, reed strands would be put to a good many uses …

Dune Spinach - edible

Over time man has grown wily – now our brains are relatively large, with an enormous amount of power … to control the various areas of our life as we progress …      ?? ever forward.

We've managed to use and subdue most things … have we thought about life itself … we in the 21^st century may never know what the future holds for the sophisticated animal that is today's man … but by encountering and mastering Savage Land … we've learnt … or have we …

as Jacqui says in her strap line to Savage Land

Nature Almost Wins …

Man v Nature - Jacqui's series - on how man survived critical events on our evolution ... 

My earlier post in January 2025 ... 

Jacqui's introduction to my delayed posting - apologies to one and all - tis here now ... 

Thanks for visiting ... and do buy/read Jacqui's books - they're very readable and enjoyable ... 

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

World Literature eating Soup, on a Lawn, while learning how to plumb a Drain...

 

Three Little Books with an update … nothing like mixing things up … just a little …

I took Kafka's Soup book with me to hospital last week … we failed … I read a couple of stories, but need to return in two weeks (12^th May) to see if we can work something out …

Brilliant, caring, empathetic staff … I consider myself very fortunate … then the next day, to my surprise, the community nurses contacted me – that I wasn't expecting … but now I know I'm in the system …

... so after that brief intro … I trip the light fantastic … join me with Kafka's Soup, on Machiavelli's Lawn, learning how to Plumb-in Sartre's Sink …

Mark Crick wrote and illustrated these three books … short stories … he is best known for his literary parodies …

… you'll find recipes, do it yourself tips, or if you prefer … how to garden …

So join me in our bright sunshine … and bring a little bit of fun with you – let's tell stories of life and love …

… then to round this briefing off … my talk on the love affair between John of Gaunt and Katherine … gave much amusement and giggly laughter – even from the 'chaps' … I plagiarised some of the love elements from Anya Seton's story telling.

John of Gaunt (1340 - 1399)
Katherine Swynford
(1349 - 1403)

When you read Mark Crick's little books … you'll come across Virginia Woolf, Marquis de Sade, John Steinbeck … and more …

... or from Sartre's Sink you'll come across Julius Caesar 'Putting Up a Shelf', Emily Brontë 'Bleeding a Radiator', or finding Edgar Allan Poe 'Boarding Up an Attic' …

Manet's 'The Luncheon on the Grass'
(1862)

...then once in the garden, and after the Introduction by Niccolo Machiavelli, we will find Emile Zola showing us 'Weeding by Hand', or Sylvia Plath's 'Burying Bulbs in Autumn' …

All delightful examples of comedic commentaries on various great writers' – something for us all to learn from … even using a radiator key – the tool provided to Emily Brontë – when she bled her radiator …

We had a brief overview on this: the
Wilton Diptych (1395 - 1399)

Grab a read … they're delightful parodies … and what a way to appreciate well known authors …

Lots happening out in that global world of ours … enjoy the change of season …

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Quick Update 2 …

I'm off to see what happens on Wednesday … otherwise all things continue as usual … and I positively assume the medics and I will be on our way to a 'resolvement' …

Dressed to impress by the
seaside, in East Sussex

Here on the coast we haven't had the best Easter weather … cool, misty, foggy days … but it is a little warmer …

Way too many visitors ... 

Those Crumbling Cliffs are still very dangerous – so it's been decided to cancel all coaches with their passengers to the Beachy Head area … too worrying for the authorities with those cracking cliffs …

c/o Wiki - a hedgehog

Life is interesting in the country … we heard snuffling and bonking hedgehogs on the Beeb (BBC) … the presenter decided the male was making the bonking noise – only to be duly informed by a listener … that it was actually the female: Who Knew?!

That crack will plummet a huge
chunk of chalk onto the 'beach' below
(dangerous for those above and those below)
and definitely not for burrowing hedgehogs

My sister-in-law says she's got two of those mammals in their garden … and so is delighted … there are plenty of nooks and crannies for them to burrow into and hide away from the cat, the dog … giving them time to bonk away …

A Sussex Trug with Easter eggs
and tulips

Then there were plenty of Easter Eggs some filling Sussex Trugs – we had a salmon lunch a la famille and friends … tulips and daffodils are filling our shops …

SouthDown coaches - a commercial truck,
converted into an each local Sussex 'bus'

Now this morning, Easter Monday, the bells rang out signalling the death of Pope Francis … next, after the funeral, the Vatican convenes a Papal Conclave to select the next Pope …

Life in all ways goes on … wishing you a peaceful Spring or Autumn depending where you live …

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Quick Update …

 

Just over three weeks' ago I had to call our NHS 111 helpline … and got taken into A & E … I wasn't seriously ill – no broken bones, the old insides of the engine weren't playing happily …

Zebra in the Kruger Park, north of Durban

I was lucky … the paramedics were youngsters … one of whom had just been to Durban for their honeymoon, along with six friends … oh yes with the husband! … he's a paramedic too, but not on the same shift … so we had a natter about the country and safaris on the way over to our local hospital – she was happy …

Nature Reserve in distance from
Rye town

I was admitted straight away, it was 8.00 am or so, and after some trial runs I was eventually dealt with, and then after lunch sent home – at least not admitted into a ward … which at one stage was on the cards.

Discovery Centre in Nature Reserve

I've been in limbo – I'm seeing the GP this week .. and so will know more. Life ticks along … it's just the wheels need to turn … and I'll find out what's been bugging me since Covid …

Discovery Centre near end of build -
showing stilts

Some friends and I went over to Rye – to the nature reserve there – I took it slowly, but they've got a brilliant new Discovery Centre … which has been built on stilts … to take into account the fluctuating tides …

Shingle Beach at Tide Mills, Newhaven

... the Reserve floods twice a day … while the history of the area is fascinating ...I'll come back to give you a better update on this area of shingle coastline – rare plants, booming Bitterns, tiny microcosms of life at the edge … needing the salt-water and spray.

Bittern in full flight

I've got a few things I want to post about … but it's A – Z month and that's pretty time-consuming … either for contributors and/or for commenters … so I'll go quiet and come alive after Easter …

A Bittern - standing tall

Thank goodness the weather's warming up – but we have a cold east wind, that being by the coast is pretty chilly … our newsagent said to me yesterday – that it was freezing this morning … I agreed!

All is well – in fact I'm feeling better … just need to get the 'old bod sorted out' … I'm fairly certain there's nothing serious ... just needed the 'shake- out' (so to speak) ... 

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories